February is IRIS Mundial Month for Sixteenth Year
Monday, January 30 2023 | 14 h 34 min | News, Press Release
IRIS Mundial announces that, for a 16th year, the organization will benefit from an annual fundraising campaign organized by IRIS, The Visual Group, its main partner.
The campaign will be held throughout the month of February in IRIS stores across Canada. For each pair of glasses sold during the month, $10 will be donated to the organization. The IRIS Ophthalmology Clinic also agreed to donate $25 per eye surgery performed. IRIS Mundial also appeals to the public by giving them the chance to give a second life to their glasses; IRIS stores will give every pair of used glassed they receive from the public to IRIS Mundial. These efforts will enable disadvantaged individuals to obtain eye exams, eyeglasses and ocular surgeries. Since 2008, IRIS stores, with the participation of the IRIS Ophthalmology Clinic, have donated more than $1,311,900 to IRIS Mundial, including $92,160 in 2022. The goal for 2023 is to reach $95,000.
“Thanks to the constant support of the public and IRIS The Visual Group, we can continue to offer quality visual care to the most disadvantaged through our projects. Thank you so much for helping to change their lives!”, says Johanne de Champlain, chairwoman of IRIS Mundial.
The donations collected to date have resulted in the establishment of three Programs for the Prevention and Fight against Blindness (PPFB) in Haiti and in Senegal. For several years, these initiatives have enabled adults and children in the targeted areas to have access to a comprehensive quality eye care system. IRIS Mundial’s support to its partners takes many forms, from the construction or rehabilitation of community eye clinics, to financial and equipment support, as well as continuing education in the field of eye care.
In addition to its three permanent programs, IRIS Mundial has completed 24 one-time projects around the world. Typically, some 30 Canadian volunteers (optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists and others) participate in these one-time projects and work with local professionals to provide visual care to 2,000 people. The purpose of these projects is to identify the most common oculovisual problems, as well as to assess the needs and also the possibility of implementing a permanent program at these sites in the future.
Click HERE for the full press release.
